NEWARK, DE – The University of Delaware men’s tennis team came within two points of a shutout in a 6-1 victory over Saint Joseph’s on Thursday afternoon at the Delaware Field House tennis courts, the Blue Hens’ third consecutive win.

Sophomore Austin Longacre battled hard before dropping a third-set tie-breaker to Pat Adams of Saint Joseph’s at first singles, but junior Nolan Greenberg got the Hens back on track with a 6-0, 6-2 drubbing of Phil Garabedian at the No. 2 spot. Sophomore Sam Barrer and freshman Chris Hincker picked up more points for UD, as they claimed straight-setters at third and fourth singles, respectively.

Hincker’s victory gives him 14 for the year, the sixth-most ever by any Delaware freshman. He needs just five more wins to surpass Jason Hanschmann’s school record of 18, set in the 2004-05 season.

Sophomore Camilo Perez widened the UD lead in his fifth-singles match-up with Michael Stauble of SJU, scoring a 6-1, 6-1 win. Senior sixth man Jonathan Schwartz (at right) put the match out of reach when he downed the Hawks’ Matt Prusack by a 6-1, 6-3 tally.

Longacre and Greenberg continued their string of wins at first doubles with an 8-4 rout of Garabedian and Patrick Cerutti, while Schwartz joined forces with sophomore Andrew Blumberg to outlast Adams and Nick Tuxen of SJU 8-7 (7-5) in second doubles action. Barrer and Perez put an exclamation point on the Blue Hens’ runaway victory, ousting Saint Joseph’s third pair 8-1.

Delaware improved to 4-3 on the season and logged its first win over Saint Joseph’s since a 4-1 triumph at the 2001 Towson Invitational. The Hens return to action on Tuesday, when they open their Colonial Athletic Association schedule with a trip to George Mason.

AGATE:

Delaware 6, Saint Joseph’s 1

First Singles – Pat Adams (SJU) d. Austin Longacre (UD), 6-2, 4-6, 11-9. Second Singles – Nolan Greenberg (UD) d. Phil Garabedian (SJU), 6-0, 6-2. Third Singles – Sam Barrer (UD) d. Nick Tuxen (SJU), 6-3, 7-5. Fourth Singles – Chris Hincker (UD) d. Patrick Cerutti (SJU), 6-2, 6-0. Fifth Singles – Camilo Perez (UD) d. Michael Stauble (SJU), 6-1, 6-1. Sixth Singles – Jonathan Schwartz (UD) d. Matt Prusack (SJU), 6-1, 6-3. First Doubles – Longacre/Greenberg (UD) d. Garabedian/Cerutti (SJU), 8-4. Second Doubles – Andrew Blumberg/Schwartz (UD) d. Adams/Tuxen (SJU), 8-7 (7-5). Third Doubles – Barrer/Perez (UD) d. Stauble/Prusack (SJU), 8-1.